Guts and Girl Bits

I talk to Naturopath Hayley Stockbridge (http://www.hayleystockbridge.com.au/) about digestion and answer some questions which cover reflux, constipation, children's stomach pain, bloating and gluten intolerance. Podcast Breakdown 3:57 What is a normal bowel movement? 6:50 Question 1: I've had GORD ever since I can remember, I'm on Nexium and I take metamucil. I still get the occasional bit of reflux but mostly it's controlled with the medication. I don't want to stay on it because I don't want to rely of a medication. I also get diarrhoea every week or so that's watery, explosive and smelly and really urgent and uncomfortable, and I'm frequently bloated. Is any of this connected and what do you suggest I do about it? 9:05 Diet for reflux, food intolerances. 9:40 The importance of easing of PPI medications slowly. 11:00 Reflux often due to a structural/mechanical issue, but this doesn't mean you're doomed. 12:50 Testing and avenues to look at for assessing causes of reflux, most common food triggers of reflux. 14:15 Question 2: I feel bloated and grumpy whenever I eat bread, but my GP said I'm not celiac so I can eat as much wheat as I want. I don't get it though, why am I getting these feelings if I'm ok with bread? 15:00 Non celiac gluten intolerance including fructose mal-absorption 18:34 The general overconsumption of wheat and gluten containing foods and the issues with processing of wheat 22:40 It's advisable to rule out celiac disease, as knowing this will determine how much gluten you can tolerate. 24:00 Sourdough may be an option for people sensitive to wheat as the fermentation breaks down some of the gluten and gliadin 25:45 Gluten free products are not always better for you 26:45 Experiment to find out what foods work best for you 27:55 Question 3: Help for constipation please! I have been taking movicol for about 5 yrs now. I go to the toilet once a day, but if i don't take movicol I go once a week. I don't like relying on it, but I don't know what else I can do. Hayley and I discuss some common approaches to supporting constipation and diet for good bowel movements. 30:29 Papaya vs Pawpaw 33:00 Probiotics 34:40 Apple cider vinegar benefits 36:00 Dandelion coffee/tea 37:00 Manual work for constipation 37:25 The importance of exercise for healthy bowel movements 38:57 Toilet time - make time each morning to train your bowels to go at that time, and don't suppress the urge to go when you need to. 39:50 Our yoga efforts. 41:00 Question 4: My 4 year old daughter frequently complains of stomach pains, I'm always at the doctors with her trying to find out what it is but they can't find anything. It can be really upsetting for her, and sometimes she's doubled up and crying with the pain. We eat well, but she always has a runny nose and this stomach pain is very concerning. She started preschool last year and seems to get sick all the time, I'm worried about how she'll go at school with this stomach pain. She used to go to the toilet every 3-4 days, and even though this is considered normal the doctors gave her parachoc to try and help in case this is causing the pain, now she does go to the toilet easily (although it's very lose) . Is there anything else I can do for her? 46:00 Infant massage for stomach pain 47:15 Our favourite digestion herbs

I talk to Naturopath Lisa Costa-Bir (http://lisacostabirnaturopath.com.au) about thyroid health. We discuss the prevalence of sub-clinical thyroid problems, some common symptoms you experience with a thyroid disorder, links between thyroid, stress and depression, thyroid and cholesterol and also the way thyroid health can change during and after pregnancy. Podcast breakdown: 1:30 The prevalence of thyroid conditions; sub clinical thyroid problems are frequently going undiagnosed and taking into consideration more factors than just blood test results, the rate of thyroid problems (hypothyroidism in particular) would likely be much higher. TSH alone is not enough. 3:50 TSH can be artificially suppressed. 4:30 Reverse T3 6:15 Causes of elevated thyroid antibodies 7:47 Foods Lisa recommends for people with thyroid disorders 10:45 Wheat and thyroid 12:00 Soy and thyroid 14:14 Nutrients for the thyroid and how thyroid problems can cause reduced absorption of nutrients 16:35 Look the adrenals and stress first 18:38 Oestrogen, progesterone, PMT and thyroid 20:43 Thyroid medications - You need nutrients for it to work properly 22:00 Iodine and the building blocks for thyroid hormones 23:40 Vitamin D 25:30 Thyroid and Iodine in Preconception, Pregnancy and Post-Partum 30:22 Thyroid and Depression 31:26 Thyroid and Cholesterol 34:30 How long does it take to improve thyroid function? 35:35 Sleep for thyroid 37:44 Basal body temperature and salt in the morning 38:20 Our favourite thyroid herbs

Ayurvedic Medicine - Podcast #5 I interview Naturopath and Ayurvedic lifestyle consultant Lisa Costa-Bir about Ayurvedic medicine and how she incorporates her knowledge from this into her practice as well as her personal life. Podcast Breakdown: 1.18 A bit about Lisa Costa-Bir, her Indian background and her first experience with Ayurveda in treating her skin condition. 3.24 What is Ayurveda/Ayurvedic medicine? 4.00 The origins of the Ayurvedic word: Life Knowledge 4.43 How does Lisa blend her Ayurvedic knowledge into her Naturopathic practice? 5.22 About the Prakruti, or the individual doshas Vata, Pitta and Kapha 6.30 Want to work out your own prakruti? http://ayurvedadosha.org/doshas/ayurveda-dosha-test 8.35 Lisa discusses what dosha she is, a Vata-Kapha and talks a bit more about Vata 9.56 Pitta people often love spicy foods even though it’s not so great for them. 10.36 Kapha people usually love ice cream and other dairy, but its often too damp and mucous promoting for them. 11.04 A bit more about Kapha and Pitta 13.16 Everything that we do in our diet and our lifestyle influences our health: “As is the atom, so is the universe As is the microcosm, so is the macrocosm As is the human mind, so is the cosmic mind”. 13.45 What are the main Ayurvedic teaching Lisa has incorporated into her life personally? Mostly they are around digestive function. 15.30 Food should be body temperature. Spices for Vata and Kapha. 16.10 Combining foods and spices to negate the negative effects of foods. 17.35 Start the morning with a spice mix to get the digestion going. 18.00 Classic ayurvedic recipes Lisa loves: Ginger tea with herbs and spices, 19.40 Golden milk and Benefits of turmeric, plus how to get more benefits out of turmeric such as adding black pepper, fat and using heat. 21.00 Avoid heating honey as it destroys the ‘vitality’ of the honey 22.30 How to look after your spices 23.20 Chai tea 24.00 Spice milk 21.19 The benefits of dates: A rejuvenating tonic, also known as rasayana which is often consumed after giving birth or after intercourse 25.00 Some health and lifestyle techniques that have their origins from Ayurveda such as self massage with sesame oil (great for all the constitutions) or coconut oil. 27.00 Tongue scraping and tongue diagnosis 29.17 Oil pulling 30.20 Seasonal eating 32.45 Some dessert ideas for winter 33.47 Dahl for breakfast? Yes! 34.45 Other techniques to adjust to the season: oil massage for the body and hair 35.25 Pranayama: A series of breathing exercises, a great way to start and/or finish the day. 36.10 Practise the breathing exercise along with Lisa. 38.00 We discuss our favourite Ayurvedic herbs: Shatavari, Ginger and Tribulus for Lisa, Holy Basil and Withania for me. 40.35 How to get in contact with Lisa.

It’s time for podcast number four, and in this one I talk with fellow naturopath Laura Burton from http://www.burtonhealth.com.au about stress, neurotransmitter health, adrenal health, ways to deal with and reduce stress via diet and lifestyle techniques. Want to subscribe to get podcasts automatically? You can do that here: https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/health-wellbeing-podcast/id1006574743 Podcast Breakdown: 4:27 What have Laura and I been up to? Laura has been busy with her Tea Club and clinic life, and I have been busy in the clinic as well. I also have the Stress Talk coming up this Saturday at Windsor. 5:50 Stress has a big impact on our everyday life and it can be difficult to recognise stress because it comes in so many different forms. Sneaky stress! 7:00 The impact of over-exercising or the wrong forms of exercise on stress and adrenal health. 8:22 Stress impacts on nervous system balance. 8:54 The sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system. 9:24 Serotonin 10:45 Histamine 12:52 GABA 14:14 Dopamine 14:46 Adenosine 15:26 Laura talks about diet and nutrients for neurotransmitter and mood health 17:30 Digestive health is important in neurotransmitter health because we need to be able to breakdown our foods to absorb the nutrients required for neurotransmitter production 18:22 Vitamin C and other nutrients required for neurotransmitters and adrenal health 21:28 Iron supplementation risks, haemochromatosis and anxiety 22:40 Laura sums up how a balanced diet can usually provide the variety of 22:11 Adrenal health: How norepinephrine and epinephrine work in the body, and why high cortisol can impede muscle gain from exercise. Chronic stress can suppress out immune system and reduce our ability to heal from injuries. 24:50 Adrenal fatigue symptoms we’d look for in clinic. 26:36 Saliva testing for adrenal fatigue 28:00 Diet and lifestyle ways to deal with adrenal fatigue 29:29 Hugs for relieving stress! 30:39 Meditation increases dopamine and serotonin 31:09 Mindfulness, meditation and breathing exercises. One moment meditation video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6eFFCi12v8 35:29 Changing our mindset and ways of thinking 37:43 Gratitude practice 40:31 Our favourite stress herbs

In this podcast episode I interview Naturopath Melinda King about her stress management program Crazy 2 Calm, and we chat about her recent New York trip where she explored healthy restaurants, attended a seminar by Gabby Bernstein, Spirit Junkie and generally had a good time. Podcast Breakdown: 0:55 A bit about Melinda and her personal health journey and how she got into Naturopathy. 6:23 What has Melinda been getting up to lately? She discusses her New York trip and her mission to find healthy places to eat while there. 12:18 Melinda talks about her experience attending the Gabby Bernstein - Spirit Junkie seminar. 15:54 How Melinda developed the ideas for her Crazy 2 Calm program with a 'Think Week' in Bali. 18:26 A bit more about the Crazy 2 Calm program 19:44 Step 1- Unwind 20:26 Step 2 - Nourish 20:52 Step 3 - Breathe 21:12 Step 4 - Accept 21:34 Step 5 - Surrender 22:19 Step 6 - Slow 22:45 Step 7 - Refresh 23:03 Step 8 - Connect 23:22 Step 9 - Love 24:00 Step 10 - Create 27:40 Some of the effects stress can have on our health, in particular the way stress affects our nervous system balance which can impede digestion, hormone health, skin health and more. 31:30 The importance of addressing stress as the root cause of ill health 33:06 The ability to heal from injuries and illnesses is affected by stress 33:41 What do you do when you're too time poor to meditate? 34:42 the 4:2, 6:2 breath as a quick and easy way to pull out of sympathetic nervous system dominance 35:55 How to deal with negative/draining people. 37:19 How to pull yourself out of a bad day. 41:52 Affirmations to get through a bad day and when you feel pressured to be a certain way. 43:50 Why you should set your happiness around gratitude rather than goal achievement 46:55 Stress busting diet 48:51 The importance of blood sugar control for stable mood 50:50 Balanced blood sugar levels for stronger willpower to reduce emotional eating 52:15 Getting on top of the basics: Sleep, stress, whole food diet. 56:08 Our favourite calming herbs 59:28 How to connect with us